Lunchbox Chicken Noodle Soup

When I was young my favorite soup came in a red box. It consisted of two things….salty broth and vermicelli noodles. To this day, if I am sick the first thing I want to eat when I start to feel better is Lipton’s Noodle Soup. I have never looked at the sodium count, but I’m sure it’s through the roof. Still, it’s good and it makes me feel better. So there.

When I was in the store the other day I came across a package of short vermicelli noodles and I grabbed it. My first thought was that I would recreate Lipton’s Noodle soup and the kids would love it. Somewhere along the way I decided to make it a true chicken noodle soup with the carrots, chicken, celery and parsley. However I decided to chop everything up very small just like the noodles. I also added some bouillon to the broth to make it taste even more like my favorite soup in the red box.

Perfect for little mouths to eat and carry to school in a thermos in their little lunchboxes. I honestly think the fact that everything was cut up so small made it easier and more appealing for them to eat.

The girls loved it and happily ate it three days in a row – no complaints. I was worried that after the first two days they might grow tired of it. However, the only complaint was that it wasn’t hot enough on day 2. Oh well, it was still gone.

I decided to buy each of the girls a Thermos last year so that I could send them some different foods in their lunches. We probably use them 2-3 days a week. Sometimes I will send leftovers and some days we will pack it with a fruit salad and yogurt. I know people are always looking for different lunch ideas for the kids and if you don’t have a Thermos I definitely suggest purchasing some. Having these increases your lunch possibilities threefold…maybe even one hundred.

3 tablespoons of chicken base (I use Better Than Broth and you can use this to taste)

2 cups cooked chicken - cut into small cubes (1/4" is what I did)

6 oz. short vermicelli noodles (you can use more or less depending on your preferences, however if you add more you may need to add additional liquid.)

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Chop celery and carrots into a small dice about ¼ inch. Saute in olive oil in a soup pot for several minutes until tender. Add remaining ingredients through chicken and simmer for 20 minutes. Turn heat up and bring to a gentle boil. Add noodles and cook until tender. Turn soup back down to a simmer and add parsley flakes. Simmer for 5-10 minutes more and serve.